The Truth of All Things by Kieran Shields (thoughts)

The Truth of All Things is an engaging historical mystery that is meant to be read slowly and savored.  Filled with historical details that add layers to the story, I found this book to be a solid beginning to this mystery series.  Now I need to find more books just like this to read!

In this book a woman is found murdered in such a way as to cause instant attention and speculation as to the why's of the murder.  Detective Archie Lean instantly realizes that this isn't your typical murder so he calls in help from criminalist Perceval Grey.  It soon becomes apparent that this murder has ties to the Salem witch trials and that their murderer has a strong interest in history.  It will be up to these two men along with the help of a few others to sift through the layers and find the killer.

This book was such an interesting read because of the uniqueness of the murder and the storyline.  The author ties in the Salem witch trials from the very beginning in such a way that I felt like I was learning more about them while reading this book.  The details from history that the author included (and not just about the Salem witch trials but other events) added a depth to this story that isn't always present in other books that I have read.  I also really enjoyed the main characters for a variety of reasons.  One of the main reasons was the uniqueness that each of them shared.  They were both so different from each other.  While the two men didn't always agree with each other, they both brought so much to the table when it came to solving the crime.  I also appreciated that the author took the time to flesh out their different personalities so well.  I'm looking forward to learning more about them in future books.  While I really, really enjoyed most of this book, I did find it to be a bit on the slow side at times.  I think that this was mainly my own mind frame and once I settled into the pacing of the story it didn't bother me as much.  Also the ending was such an abrupt change of pace as all of a sudden everything was happening at once....it took me a minute (and a few pages reread) to catch up.  The ending was really solid though and tied everything up very nicely.

Overall, this was a really solid read that left me eager to continue on with this series.  I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of the second book and I definitely plan on reading it soon.  If you are of fan of historical mysteries then I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this one.  I loved the details and uniqueness of this book which is why I enjoyed reading it so much.  I'm actually surprised that I haven't heard more about it because it was really good.  Recommended!

Bottom Line:  A standout historical mystery....I want to read more books just like this!

Disclosure:  I was sent a copy of this book for review from the publisher.  The thoughts are my own :)